A Boy and His Ghost
by Artemia Fae
Summary: Human AU Baffy! Daffy is a troubled teenager who basically shuts himself off from the rest of the world because his life sucks pretty bad. But relief comes in the form of Bugs, a teen who has been through similar problems, the only thing is that Bugs is dead and he's assigned as Daffy's guardian ghost. Life cannot get any stranger, except they are starting to fall for each other :)
1. The Meeting

A Boy and His Ghost

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Hello everyone! No worries, I'm still working on _The Devil and His Playmate_ , but I had this idea nagging at me for a little while. And you guys know me, I had to write it. Lol. Another human AU.**

 **I just want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support my Baffy fics have received. I am so glad you guys enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. :D**

 **Hope you all are safe out there!**

 **I appreciate you guys so much!**

 **Also, I know this story has a slightly less cheerful tone than the rest of my other Baffy stories and it may feel a little bit like Coraline (which I enjoyed), but I promise it will get better the more the chapters progress. :) Promise I won't take too long with my updates. ;)**

* * *

Daffy watches as the moving van drives away, feeling a pang of sorrow as the weight of the situation finally hits him; they've moved, and there's no going back now…

His mother calls him in to take a look around the new house, and he does, having realized that he's been standing outside in the yard lost in his thoughts for the past few minutes.

He daydreams a lot and it's a habit he's been trying to break lately, except he doesn't have any luck. He never has any luck.

He walks up to the house's front porch and hesitates before going inside. There's a crude scratch on the entrance wall, and it reads a single name: James. Daffy shrugs, figuring that it must have been the name of one of the people who last lived there. A breeze sweeps past him, causing goosebumps to break across his skin and he zips his sweater up.

He frowns and looks behind him, staring up at the sky as he turns around. It's a cloudy day, one that promises rain. No one in the neighborhood is outside, probably not wanting to be caught when the rain finally falls.

When he turns back around the house seems to stare back at him, with its old-world style, large exterior, it looks more like a small castle than a house. And frankly, Daffy isn't particularly eager to go inside…at all.

But the clouds above rumble and so Daffy finds himself walking past the porch, into the house and shutting the door behind him.

His parents' muffled voices lead him to the living room where they seem to be preoccupied hanging up a painting and trying to decide the best place for it to go.

Daffy watches them for a while, offering to help, but his mother kindly asks him to unpack the boxes in his room instead.

It takes him a while to find the blasted place as the house is just far too big and too confusing. It's only when he's about to give up when he hears the sound of a door squeaking open and when he looks to his right, there's a room with his books and the boxes with his name on them.

Slowly, he enters the room, he refuses to call it _his_ as it is nothing like his room back at his old home. There's no familiarity, no comfort, there isn't the warm smell of fresh laundry or the gentle chirping of birds outside, there's just a musky smell and dead silence.

The only perks are that he has a bigger bed and a reading nook with huge bay windows. But they are only small comforts.

He walks over to the dusty window but on his way his foot kicks one of the boxes and a book falls out. He bends over to pick it up, scans the title but finds that it lacks anything interesting, writing it off as probably one of his father's that must have gotten misplaced and resumes going to the window.

He wipes off some of the dust with his hand and looks out; it's starting to rain, but it's more of a slight drizzle. The cushions of the nook are quite comfy, so he sits there awhile before soon dozing off.

* * *

Bugs looks down at the sleeping boy, feeling a rush of emotion flood him. He had never seen someone so beautiful in all his existence, not even when he was human.

At first, he was reluctant to be the "guardian ghost", as they were called in his realm, of Daffy, refusing to do it again after James and his family packed up and left.

It wasn't fun and frankly, he didn't think that he was cut out for a job like this; he was way too sarcastic and snarky for a job where his main duty was to guard and protect some punk kid. But looking down at this Daffy guy, with his crooked glasses, raven-dark hair and coffee brown eyes, and with skin paler than his, he could actually imagine giving it a shot.

Not that he had much of a choice, he still had to do eighty more years before he was free to cross over to the other side.

Apparently, the self-absorbed dick-heads of the other side didn't find driving his motorcycle over the Grand Canyon to be a "virtuous death" and in order to join them up there, he had to fulfill a century of his "dead life" trying to make up for it and to impress them.

Well, whatever, his time was running out anyways, and this kid seemed pretty harmless, eighteen, like the age Bugs was when he killed hims- passed away. How bad could it be?

* * *

Daffy awakens to darkness. It's night, but thanks to the clouds, the stars' lights aren't quite visible. So everything is black and there's no light to lead his way out.

Still, that doesn't stop him from attempting to get to the door and look for his parents.

He trips and stumbles but eventually he finds a light switch. His room is still messy thanks to the boxes, but he'll just take care of it later.

He finds his parents downstairs in the kitchen.

"Oh honey! How is packing? Do you like your new room?" His mother asks while stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce.

His father, who is chopping up lettuce for a salad, shoots him a worried glance.

Daffy tries for a smile. "Yeah, I love it."

"Good! I know this move is tough on you honey, but please try to get comfortable. Hopefully your father's new book will sell just as well as the first one." She gives her husband a loving stare. "He owes us that much for having us uproot our lives."

"Hey!" His dad frowns, but even he knows his mother is joking around. Only Daffy wishes she wasn't. Because no matter what, he is still mad at them for not even considering him in all this. But that's a topic for another day…

Now he's just hungry.

He attempts to take a seat at the dinner table, but his father stops him before he can get any further to the dining room, by tugging on his shirt. "You okay, buddy?"

Daffy nods, but he doesn't have the energy to smile again so he just walks away while his father looks on in concern.

* * *

A week passes, Daffy is in school. And like everything else, it is nothing like his old school. No one finds his nerdiness endearing, but everyone, including his teachers, find it cool to pick on him.

His old friends, the pitifully small few that he managed to have at his old school, all promise to visit, but no one calls, and, seeing that he doesn't want to be a bother, he doesn't call them.

He shuts himself off from everyone. His parents keep trying to get him to talk, but he never does. He just retires to his room and lies on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, wishing he were somewhere else.

It's a particularly rough day where someone manages to spill cranberry juice all over his head and he gets another B on his test that he comes home ready to just sleep and forget about the whole world.

But as soon as he walks past his worried mother, ascends the creaky stairs, and opens the door of his room, he feels it; the biting cold.

He looks around, wondering if he left a window open but finding them all closed.

 _Click!_

The door slams shut behind him, causing Daffy to jump.

When he turns around he feels the chill again, causing himself to rub his arms against the assault of goosebumps rising.

Terror grips his spine, and he knows he's not alone. Which even to him is a foolish notion, as it isn't possible for anyone to be in the room with him, surely they would have made a noise? Right? Or he would have seen them enter?

The light bulb above his head flickers and he sees a dark figure standing in front of him, but just like that, it's gone. Daffy wants to scream, but he is frozen with fear.

"Shh," The person says, appearing again as the light flickers back on and off for a second, placing a finger to their lips.

When the light finally stops sparking and the whole room is illuminated again, Daffy sees that the figure is gone.

He breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe it was all in his head? Sleep would really do him good about now.

Except when he turns to flip the switch and darken the room again, a laugh resounds from the direction of the nook. Wildly, he turns to look and his eyes brush across a guy, who couldn't be much older than Daffy himself. The guy is pale, almost ethereally so, and he's wearing all black. Save for his silver hair which is cropped low and his cerulean eyes, maybe the most intense blue eyes Daffy has ever seen, staring back at Daffy with barely masked amusement and curiosity. He's beautiful, inhumanly beautiful.

"W-who are you?" Daffy asks, reaching for the lamp near to him as protection.

The person doesn't say anything but raises an eyebrow at Daffy's weapon of choice.

"I mean it!" Daffy warns, brandishing the lamp as if it can do serious damage, but even to his own ears, the threat sounds feeble.

The guy throws his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I mean no harm, Cinderella."

Daffy frowns. Cinderella? "What are you doing in my house?"

The guy shrugs. "I think the real question is what are you doing in _my_ house, interrupting my haunting?"

"H-haunting?"

At Daffy's confused expression, the guy laughs again. "Okay, well not haunting per se, but you sort of summoned me."

Daffy feels even more confused.

"Summon?" He asks, because really, what is going on here?

"Yeah, with all your negative energy and shit. It was really bumming me out so I came to check up on you. But it's okay Cinderella, it's not like you should thank me or anything." He mutters.

Daffy frowns. "You broke into my house and I should thank you? And why do you keep calling me Cinderella?"

The guy, probably fed up with Daffy's lack of understanding, rises to his feet and whoah is he tall! He narrows those breathtaking blue eyes at Daffy and whispers so close to Daffy's face that the other teen can feel the cool rush of his breath across his cheeks. "I am your guardian okay. You summoned me when you were feeling particularly down in the dumps, it's my job to protect you. So I'm like your…" The guy cringes. "Fairy Godmother."

Then dawn breaks in Daffy's head. Fairly Godmother? Cinderella? "Shit! This is real." Then, "Are you even human?"

The guy smirks. "Nope, I'm as dead as dead can be. I'm just a ghost."

"Like Casper?" Daffy inquires, trying to wrap his head around it.

"Uhh hell no." The ghost teen utters.

"So then what's your name?"

"Really, I just tell you I'm a ghost and you're cool with it?"

"Do I have any reason to not be?" It was now Daffy's turn to raise an eyebrow.

The "ghost" flashes him a pearly white smile. "Nope."

"So, your name?"

"Bugs."

"What kind of name is that?" Daffy giggles.

"What kind of name is Daffy?"

"It's a better name than Bugs." Daffy grins as Bugs walks away to fiddle with the books on Daffy's shelf.

"Sure it is." He says, picking a book off the shelf and flipping it open. Daffy walks over to him and as he gets closer, he sees that it is the one that he forgot to return to his father.

"So your dad's a writer huh?"

Daffy nods and is about to ask him how he knows this when Bugs taps his temple. "I know everything about you."

"That's not creepy at all." The black-haired teen mumbles.

Bugs doesn't acknowledge the comment. Instead he turns his attention to Daffy who tries not to squirm under the intensity of his stare. "Well gorgeous, you summoned me, what do you want me to do? Juggle? Tell jokes?"

Daffy shrugs. "What's the point? You're eventually going to have to leave anyways."

Bugs frowns. "That's the thing, I leave but I'm never far behind."

That's when it occurs to Daffy, if Bugs' entire existence meant having to watch him, then it probably wasn't that exciting of an existence. "I'm sorry I guess I'm not that interesting of a human, huh?"

"You're more interesting than you think."

"What?"

"What?" Bugs, looks bashful for a second, until it's gone in a blink of an eye.

"For a ghost who refuses to be called Casper, you're quite friendly."

"I will smite you. Don't tempt me."

Daffy laughs.

And Bugs, after hearing the effortless sound coming from Daffy, like music. He says, "I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful..." He trails off, trying to find the right word.

"Friendship." Daffy finishes for him. And for some reason it's both enough and not enough at the same time.

They both look at each other. "Friendship." Bug repeats the word, but finds it to be less effective. He almost wants to corner Daffy and ask him what would happen if he were to ask for more between them, but he shakes that idea out of his head. No need to scare the kid, or himself.

"It would have to be enough." He doesn't realize that he's said it aloud until Daffy raises his head. "Huh?" He asks.

"Nothing!" Bugs chirps, trying his best to cover his blunder. And as Daffy flickers his attention between his books and Bugs, Bugs feels the hole where his heart should belong, ache with something new, something like longing. Boy, is he screwed.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **What are we going to do with these dorks? :D If you enjoyed this story then I would love to know. Please be safe out there and see you next chapters!**


	2. It's A Deadman's World

_**A/N:**_ **Hello everyone! Soundtrack for this chapter is: copious amounts of Melanie Martinez and Tokyo Ghoul's "Unravel"**

 **I want to thank you all for reviewing/reading/favoriting/following everything.**

 **Special thanks to my beta Harmony Valenka Smith for the help and for the ideas! I honestly don't know where I would be without her sometimes. She's that great! :)**

 **I'm glad you all enjoy this story. Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the kitty. :)**

 **This chapter gives a bit more information. I was going to let a lot happen, but I thought better of it because I didn't want to overwhelm everyone.**

 **Overall I had a great time writing this.**

 **Enjoy guys!**

* * *

Daffy sits down on the park bench, feeling the cold, hard wood press against his jean-clad legs. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, despairing in the way that it comes out in a cloud, like smoke, due to the approaching winter.

 _What a cold winter it's going to be!_ Daffy sighs, hoping this winter won't be too brutal. He isn't used to this, having lived in Pasadena his whole life, he isn't used to snow. It would just be one more thing he'd have to get used to now.

He stares across from him, looking at the little kids play freeze tag and their tired parents sitting and watching them. There are rarely people his age here, which is one of the reasons he came to this particular park - no one for him to have to socialize with. Well, except Bugs of course.

But his ghostly companion has been gone for most of the day, popping in once or twice just to check on him before disappearing again to wherever the heck it is he goes to.

Daffy doesn't mind it really - he gets to relax a little; although he's used to being around Bugs now, it's still a little weird because Bugs is _dead_. It's a bit unsettling and Daffy's just not fully used to it, yet.

But still, Daffy gets bored after another half an hour and moves to get up when he feels a rain drop. He looks up at the sky and sees that the clouds are quite dark. He frowns - that's what he gets for moving to Devil's Cauldron, Washington. Endless rain and limited sunshine - the works.

He hops on his bike and bids the park a silent goodbye, promising himself to come back again.

Soon he's back in his neighborhood, gliding through the streets on his bike and listening to songs on his iPod when he sees a flash of light. It's so bright that it temporarily stuns him. Accidentally, he squeezes the brakes too hard and the force at which he stops, propels him off the bicycle, causing him to crash to the ground with a merciless _thud!_

Luckily, he falls on the grass of someone's yard, and apart from being a little shaken, he's fine.

"What the hell?" He asks as Bugs floats down to him - he discovered about a week ago that Bugs could fly, it was one of his ghostly abilities. It was pretty cool, but a little creepy and a little enviable; Daffy could barely walk without tripping or bumping into someone and here Bugs, who is as graceful as ever, could fly too. Life just isn't fair.

"Sorry Daffy, didn't mean to scare you." He kneels down to Daffy's level where Daffy is still sitting on the ground, but is brushing off some of the grass shards off his clothes.

"It's fine, but do you have to flash like a strobe light every time you come around?" He mutters, getting to his feet finally. No thanks to Bugs, who is keeping his distance. Daffy supposes it's for the better as Bugs' hand would probably just go right through him if he tried to take it anyways.

Bugs looks apologetic. "It's part of being dead - whenever we travel in between realms, other supernatural creatures are supposed to be alerted of our presence. For angels, there's a scent, for ghosts, it's a light and so on."

"And because I can see you, I also have to see the light?"

"Yeah, again sorry. It's not like I can turn it off."

"Don't worry about it." Daffy reassures him, walking over to his fallen bike. He examines it to see if it has any scratches or dents.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, causing Daffy to jump. Bugs is right there beside him again, staring up at the sky now, distracted by the experience of approaching rain.

"I miss this." He says as a fallen raindrop goes right through him.

Daffy turns to Bugs, who tears his eyes away from the sky to stare at the ground. His expression is unreadable, but in his eyes there's a small hint of regret and sadness.

Daffy doesn't know what to say. Another raindrop falls and soon the rain is pouring heavily. Seeing as his house is only a few blocks away, Daffy chooses to just walk through it, carrying his bike at his side - he'd run but he knows that he's more likely to slip and fall that way.

The water is chilling, every time it touches his skin, it sends a jolt through him. Beside him, Bugs floats, untouched by the rain and still staring ahead with that same distant expression.

* * *

Daffy towels off himself as he steps out of the shower, feeling better from the heat of the water on his rain-cooled skin.

Once his clothes are on and he's sitting in the nook, he yells for Bugs to come back, and he does, phasing through the door and joining Daffy on the cushions.

"So, how did you die?" Daffy asks, figuring he should just cut to the chase and not beat around the bush.

Bugs blinks, coming back to Earth, before whispering, "Suicide."

Daffy is quiet. He doesn't know what to say. His mouth drops open and he stares at Bugs gaping like a fish.

"W-why?" Eventually falls out of his mouth. He can't look Bugs in the eye yet, so he focuses his eyes on the sleeves of Bugs' arms which are covered in all kinds of tattoos.

"Because I hated my life, Daffy. It seemed like the smartest thing to do at the time." The ghost teen is looking distant again and though Daffy wonders where Bugs goes when he disappears, he is even more curious as to where Bugs goes when he's lost in his own head.

"But why? What was so bad about your life that you had to k-kill yourself?"

"What makes us do things Daffy? You want to hear that my dad was a drunk who gave me scars on my back from his boots, that I tried to get rid of for years? Or that I never knew my mother? Or how about this, that the only person who promised to love me betrayed me as soon as he got the chance? Because I could tell you all of that, but it doesn't change the fact that I am dead and that the only life I had was wasted when I decided to hurdle down to the unforgiving rocks below the Grand Canyon."

Daffy winces. "Bugs, I don't mean -"

"Daffy, save it okay. It's ridiculous, the whole idea of death. It isn't beautiful. When you _are_ dead, that's when you realize just how absurd it is to have ever wanted this."

"But -"

"And you know what the best part of this whole thing is?" The specter says derisively, "If I try to touch anything my hand either goes through it, or I kill it with my touch alone."

Daffy frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I have the Reaper's Touch. When you turn into a guardian ghost but you die for...questionable reasons, you get the Death Touch. It's supposed to teach us a lesson about life and death and blah blah blah. It's mostly just a pain in the ass though." Bugs mumbles.

"So you can't touch me? Ever?" Daffy brings one of the cushions up to his chest and clutches it, not for protection but because he's enthralled and feels the need to hold something.

Bugs nods. Then, he says very restrained as if he already knows what the answer is going to be, "Are you afraid of me?"

Daffy is caught off-guard by the question. "No."

Bugs' magnetic eyes meet his. "You really should be."

Daffy shakes his head. "No, I'm not. I mean, the whole you being dead thing is a bit...troubling. Because it's a bit new. But I'm not afraid of you. I don't think I can be."

Bugs is quiet again like he's been all day. But just as Daffy figures that that is the only reaction he'll ever get from Bugs regarding the matter, he leans back and gives Daffy an impressed, elated grin. "You're not like the rest, you know?"

Daffy blushes, feeling uncomfortable with the compliment. He looks away. "So does the Touch go away when you cross over?" He asks, changing the subject.

Bugs answers. "Yes, but I don't get to cross over for a long time. I'm supposed to spend a century here on Earth. In your realm."

Daffy ponders on that for a moment.

"Do you know that you dream?" Bugs questions, still staring at Daffy with that careful calculation that seems like he's trying to figure him out. His question interrupts Daffy from his thoughts.

The black-haired teen tries to play it cool. Hoping that he doesn't know what Bugs is getting at. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Do you know that you dream of _me_?"

Daffy feels the blush creep up to his cheeks. He hides his face in the pillow. "You're not supposed to read my thoughts. That's a violation of my privacy." The words come out muffled because of the pillow.

Bugs puts his arms up in surrender. "I can't read minds Daffy. I swear I have no idea why it happens when you dream."

Daffy's about to ramble on and on about privacy rules and how friendship survives on giving each other space when he pauses. "When what happens?"

Bugs' eyes widen in shock. "You mean you don't know?"

Daffy tries to remember anything particular in his past dreams, but he doesn't really want to remember any embarrassing details, so he just shakes his head no.

"Well, I end up in your dreams somehow, like you pull me in. And I can see you and you see me. At first it was weird, so I tried to leave. But you asked me to stay, said you were scared to be alone, and so I did. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we explore your dream world together and sometimes we just…"

Daffy clutched the pillow tighter, cringing as all the memories flash behind his eyes. "Just what?"

Bugs looks apologetic. "You touched my cheek. Do you remember that?"

Daffy did, he recalled touching Bugs, trailing his fingers along the curve of his cheek and continuing to the sharp line of his jaw, while Bugs was frozen.

"I do. And you didn't move, until I told you that it was okay, you could do the same."

Bugs inches closer. "And I did, I was hesitant at first because I thought I would hurt you." He winces when he says that statement. "But then you took my hand and brushed it across your cheek and I realized that you were fine. It was the first time that I had touched anyone since I died."

"I guess you can't hurt me in my dreams."

Bugs rakes a hand through his hair. "But why do you dream of me? I thought for sure that if you were going to see me when you fell asleep it'd be in your nightmares."

Daffy shakes his head in the negative. "I haven't had many nightmares since I met you. To be honest."

"Then let's keep it that way." He smiles, and it gives his wonderful eyes even more brilliance.

Daffy goes silent, debating something in his head while the specter studies him carefully. He's about to give up from asking his question when he gets a bright idea. "Close your eyes." He tells Bugs.

And to his surprise, Bugs obeys. Daffy knows that he has to move quickly to get this this to work. He puts the pillow down and inches closer to Bugs, who is humming a song under his breath. It sounds like a rock song, but Daffy can't place where it's from. He closes his eyes as well to work up the nerve and then he concentrates.

He is still in the nook, but now, he envisions Bugs' skin gleaming with vitality. He reaches out a hand, calming himself to keep it from trembling and brushes his hand along Bugs' cheek. To his surprise, the skin is cool, but it's solid, it's there pressing against his fingers.

He delights but tries to focus again, trying not to lose the sensation. He concentrates on his own breathing and is about to move his hand to touch Bugs' shoulder when cool fingers wrap around his wrist. He almost panics, but then the hand pulls his closer and soon cool, soft lips are pressing against his open palm.

It's dizzying, but he does not open his eyes. The lips soon move to his wrist and then a breath ghosts across his throat before the lips go there, pressing a chaste kiss, causing him to stifle a moan.

Cool, gentle lips meet his and it is innocent, almost as if it's not even happening. Daffy can feel his heart beat faster and his pulse race. The lips are about to move away but Daffy can't have that. He pushes back insistently, luckily Bugs gets the hint and holds his lips against Daffy's. Cool fingers dance against his throat and as a reflex, Daffy's mouth opens.

The kiss deepens as a tongue that tastes like applemint traces the swell of his bottom lip before carefully going farther and meeting his. Daffy, as inexperienced as he is, tries his best to stay as still as possible. As the kiss deepens even more, Daffy 's fingers slide into Bugs' hair to pull him closer and he yields to the touch. Bugs is gentle, but Daffy can't stop his body from reacting. It's too much and yet not enough.

Suddenly, Bugs stops and pulls away. Daffy's eyes fly open and he's panting as if he's run several miles.

Bugs hesitantly licks his lips and his eyes darken with something Daffy can't place. He's holding Daffy's stare but no one speaks.

"That was...freaking amazing." He finally says.

Daffy feels the red creep up to his cheeks. He presses his fingers against his lips gingerly and smiles at the heat he feels. He nods in agreement.

"It's way better in real life than in my dreams." Daffy admits.

Bugs nods, concurring. "I don't even understand how that worked." Then, "It's getting late," He frowns.

Daffy looks at the alarm clock across the room, next to his bed. It's already evening. "Do you have to leave?"

Bugs sighs. "I don't want to, believe me. But if I don't check in from time to time, my ass of a boss has the power to make my existence a living hell."

Daffy doesn't say anything, he chews his bottom lip and stares at his hands.

Bugs suddenly has a huge smile on his face. "Wait here." He commands. And just as Daffy is about to complain and tell him that he has no choice but to wait as he can't follow Bugs, the ghost is back and holding a very happy cat in his hands.

"This is Mr. Bojangles." Bugs explains. "He's my pet cat. Found him wandering around, unable to get to Pet Heaven or whatever it's called. He's really friendly." With that, he sets the black cat on the nook. Mr. Bojangles walks around before coming over to Daffy, sniffing him and then purring. He's the most adorable thing Daffy has ever seen.

"Can I pet him?" Daffy asks.

"Of course!"

Daffy reaches to pet the fur ball, his hand goes through at first but as he concentrates Mr. Bojangles' fur presses against his hand and the cat purrs more, closing his eyes and leaning in to Daffy's touch.

Daffy laughs, his eyes meet Bugs and they both share a big smile. "He's adorable."

Bugs nods and then gives him a wink before disappearing in a blink of an eye. Mr. Bojangles crawls into his lap and curls up. Daffy scratches the little wonder's chin and leans back, staring out of the windows at the dark sky.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Love you guys to bits!**


	3. Here's to Never Growing Up

_**A/N:**_ **Hello everyone! How's everything? Hope you all are having a great weekend!**

 **This chapter was meant to have more exposition but I tried not to make it be one whole big info dump. I hope you all are enjoying this story, please don't be afraid to ask me any questions or concerns or just general comments. I'm happy to clear things up if anyone wants that. (^_^)**

 **Special thanks to my beta Harmony Valenka Smith for the help and well needed advice.**

 **Title taken from an Avril Lavigne song with the same name because I thought it was fitting lol.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Bugs steps out of the elevator and through the giant glass doors of the _Ghost Realm_ , walking past the secretaries typing away at their computers and smiles at the receptionist who grins back, before punching in a number on her phone and calling Bugs' boss.

He waits for the go ahead before flashing her a wink and then walking into the office his boss occupies.

The whole place looks like a _freaking law firm_. An all glass, expensive as hell one, with many supernatural creatures walking around, but a law firm all the same.

It isn't like the ghost realms he saw on t.v. as a child, not the ones in those cartoons where the hero or poor unsuspecting people would get sucked into a black hole (because logic) and end up in. The ones that were creepy and teeming with scary creatures that go bump in the night. Nope, to his disappointment, the Ghost Realm's actually a prim and proper place that's supposed to be welcoming as well as comforting. And it is, it even had water fountains and relaxing music coming from the overhead speakers. The ghosts that did pass through this realm were always pleasant and eager to greet him, even if they only came to get their assignments and were immediately on their way again.

It is one of his least favorite realms though, mainly because it's too sterile, he always felt too out of place with his biker boots, black flannel shirt, and numerous tattoos.

He gets pulled out of his thoughts when his boss answers on the third knock.

"Come in!" Comes his deceptively calm voice and Bugs suppresses a shudder. He knows it's all for show, the kind facade he pulls when Bugs first comes in. No one knows that behind closed doors, he's a totally different person...well, _spirit_.

Noah doesn't smile when Bugs enters his ridiculously huge office, he just gestures for him to sit. And Bugs does, without any finesse or care, he gives Noah a fed up look to try to project his feelings of not wanting to be here. And his boss, of course, ignores him. But he sees the small glint of searing hatred behind those stern grey eyes, and Bugs counts it as a tiny victory.

"Do you know why you're here?" He asks as if Bugs is a misbehaving student and he's the principal about to administer the punishment.

Bugs shrugs. "You called me back from my assignment to chit chat?"

The pen Noah has in his hand almost breaks in half, being a Guardian of Light, and basically being a spirit with the same powers of an angel, just a rank below, he can do much more damage than that. Bugs has seen him when he once got super angry, levitate a chair into a whole row of glass walls, breaking each one and then fixing the place back in a blink of an eye.

Guardians of Light are nothing to be messed with, especially Noah, who is sort of new to this. Since they are not yet angels, they still have the choice of either advancing to become an angel or being reduced to a servant of darkness. Guardians of Light are still in someway connected to their humanity. Their human emotions and desires have a way of creeping up on them when they least expect it. If they ignore their human side long enough for it to go away, then they have a better chance of moving up, but if they let their human side get the best of them, then they can fall, and become a servant of darkness. Bugs doesn't know much about them except that their realm is a place he has no desire to be.

He doesn't even completely know what will happen to _him_ if he fails his assignments, but he's sure he doesn't want to find out. He knows that he can get sent to another realm and forced to become whatever creature that realm requires of him, or if he's lucky he'll be sent to the realm of perpetual disorganization and forced to file papers there.

"I didn't ask you to come here so we could chit chat, Bugs," He sounds exasperated. "I was looking through your files, and as you know you have eighty years left before you can pass to the other side."

Bugs nods, staring at a "Hang in there" poster of a cat hanging from a tree.

"Now, that is a fast amount of time even considering that time is just a man-made concept and doesn't actually affect us, well most of us. But I'm concerned about James."

Bugs tries his best not to roll his eyes, James was his first human, and the one he screwed up the most. Bugs had just died and turned into a ghost, everything was new to him. He didn't know back then just how depressed James was or how to make him feel better. They didn't really get along and when James told him he didn't want a guardian anymore, Bugs was sent to the realm of perpetual disorganization and forced to help file paperwork until he got his new assignment. They weren't fond memories at all.

"What about James?" Bugs says through gritted teeth.

This gets a satisfied smile from Noah. It makes his face light up and it makes Bugs wonder, that if this were another life, if they didn't hate each other so damn much, that maybe he'd consider him dazzling. Bugs wasn't stupid; he noticed the way every ghost, angel, and the occasional monster would take a second glance at Noah, stare longingly because they'd wish to have him, and then sigh dejectedly when they realized that he wasn't interested.

In fact, Bugs isn't sure who or what exactly Noah is into. He never mentioned having a significant other or seemed like he was even capable of love. Maybe he's trying to hold back his emotions in order to become an angel quicker or maybe he thought that being a cool, emotionless boss is better, Bugs isn't sure. Maybe he should stop focusing on his boss's love life and focus on the job? Nah, this was more fun.

"I'm concerned because with the way you handled the James human. It wasn't very professional -"

"Well, it was my first job. What do you expect?" Bugs feels himself getting upset, damn Noah and his affinity for pushing Bugs' buttons. He doesn't like this subject and wishes they'd just talk about something else.

"That doesn't excuse your lack of professionalism. Now, does it?"

Bugs got up from his seat, about to leave and flip Noah the bird when his boss piped up. "Awww leaving so soon? Don't you want to know why that new human you got can touch you? Or are you not interested?"

Bugs stops in his tracks and lowers himself back into his seat. He nods, curtly.

"It's not unheard of, for a human to touch a ghost, and for a ghost to touch back even with the Death Touch. It seems as if this Daffy guy was able to cross into the dream realm. And in the dream realm, everything is as real as one wants it to be."

Bugs doesn't say anything, but he nods, listening.

"He was also probably able to touch you in the living world because he wanted to. You see, humans have more power than they realize. They can see us, touch us, hear us and all that, if they wish or if they are in such a strong emotional state that they become sensitive to our presence."

Bugs nods again. Noah swivels his chair around so that he's no longer facing the silver-haired ghost. "But I wouldn't get too attached if I were you. Falling in love with humans gets you on your way to becoming one again, that is if the Powers That Be, think you are worthy enough. But the catch is that you forget everything about your dead life. Your memories of being human and being a ghost cannot coexist."

Bugs doesn't say anything, he doesn't realize he's been clenching his hand into a fist until he feels his nails biting into the flesh of his palm, drawing blood. He blinks once and it heals in seconds.

Noah turns his chair around then, brushing a hand across his immaculate navy dress suit, he looks like a very wealthy lawyer. Bugs remembers someone telling him that Noah died in the nineteen forties, and wonders if that must be the reason for him always dressing tidy, even when they aren't in the office.

"Also I'm going to be checking in on you next week...don't protest...it will only be brief. And it's required. I'm just going to check to make sure that you are following protocol, though I don't know why, I already know that you can't follow orders if your existence hung in the balance and technically it does."

Bugs figures it's time to leave. He barely even signals that he's going to leave or honors Noah with a professional goodbye. He just rises from his seat and gives him a mock salute. He laughs when he hears his boss call him something rude under his breath.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Noah is my OC. So I own him, Mr. Bojangles and the plot lol.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed, next chapter coming soon!**

 **Love y'all!**


	4. I'm Here

_**A/N:**_ **Hello everyone, Christmas is around the corner, sort of. And I may not update until around then so here is a little chapter that I was going to make a stand alone, but I realized that it actually goes with the plot. Of course, I'll explain more as the story continues. :)**

 **Special thanks to my beta reader, Harmony Valenka Smith for her help. And thank you to you wonderful readers who are sticking with me even though this story isn't the same jolly tune as my other Baffy fics.**

 **I was listening to Flyleaf's "All Around Me" and Zedd's "Clarity".**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays!**

* * *

It's dark, so dark. And cold, he doesn't remember when he was last able to feel chilly, but he sure doesn't miss it now.

There's nothing here, it's just him and the blackness.

He gets an idea to call out, to call for help, for _something,_ but the second he cups his hands to his mouth and tries to yell, the words get stuck in his throat, choking him into silence.

He suddenly wants to scream, to fight. But the voice in the back of his head, quickly kills the urge _this is death, there is no fighting here_ it says.

It is the end. He can't help but feel saddened by this. He always thought there'd be someone here with him, that it wouldn't be such a lonely place. But they always said everyone dies alone. And the proof is all around him.

He's suddenly tired, so tired of walking, of running. He takes a seat on the ground, or what he assumes to be the ground, and just folds his knees up to his chest. Silent, still.

He stays like that, waiting for the replay of his life, the one that is supposed to flash before him like in those cliche movies. He doesn't really want to see it, knowing full well that there is nothing worth remembering.

Time passes, he isn't sure how long, maybe hours? Days? When he hears a voice calling him. His eyes, that he didn't know he closed, shoot open and his ears perk up at the sound of the person's voice.

The voice sounds lost, desperate but crystal clear.

He gets up and immediately starts running. The darkness doesn't seem so dark anymore, the space doesn't feel so empty.

The voice calls out his name again and he hunts it down, determined to find the person or whatever it is that has joined him here.

And then, after what feels like an eternity he sees his savior, his rescuer: Daffy. Bugs doesn't stop himself, he wraps his arms around the human as tight as he can. The grateful tears stream down his face and he holds onto Daffy as if he never has to let go.

Daffy hugs back just as tight.

They stay like that for a while, savoring the moment, when tragically Bugs gets a very awful thought, "Are you dead?"

Daffy shakes his head. "No, I'm not dead and you're not either. We're still alive."

And Bugs feels so much relief that he kisses Daffy before they both break into breathless laughter.

When Bugs wakes up, he's in his quiet place, the lake where the stars touch the water and in the distance he can see his father (before the substance abuse) with a younger him, teaching him how to fish.

He must have dreamed, but to have dreamed, he must have slept. He frowns; he hasn't slept in over twenty years. That can only mean one thing: he is healing...

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **To make it clear, the lake Bugs goes to is like this quiet place that every ghost has, and it is different for every ghost, it can be wherever your happy place is. This just seems to be Bugs' happy place. Sorry for making this so depressing but I love writing Baffy fics, and I love me some variety. It is the spice of life after all. ;) Stay safe out there guys!**


	5. Teen Idol

_**A/N:**_ **Hey guys!**

 **So the song I was listening to while I wrote this was "Teen Idle" by Marina and the Diamonds. I've been addicted to her for years.**

 **Special thanks to my beta Harmony Valenka Smith, for the much needed help! Thank you!**

 **I want to thank you guys and my friend Ranger for reading this story. You guys rock. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the story on a whole.**

 **Fair Warning: this chapter is a little sad (like usual) but it does lighten up towards the end. :)**

 **Enjoy:**

* * *

"We're playing hooky today." Daffy tells Bugs as he wipes off the mashed potatoes some jerk deliberately smashed into his sweater for the fourth time this week. Daffy doesn't see the worried expression that crosses Bugs' face.

"What if you get caught?"

"Ever heard of a Mental Health day? That's my excuse." Daffy mumbles, sneaking out of the cafeteria door. He walks past the courtyard and sneaks past the security guards there, undetected, he doesn't stop until he reaches his bicycle parked by a tree that no one would care to look.

He's riding away without looking back, relishing in the feel of the cold air as it hits his skin, like an electric rush he feels as if out here he can finally breathe. He can't see Bugs but he hears the specter speak. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here." Daffy replies giddily.

Daffy cycles to the terminal, he hops on the bus, the one heading into the city. Despite the fact that it doesn't seem that Bugs is entirely on board with the idea, he does nothing to stop Daffy. Daffy supposes that it's because he's not in any imminent danger and that Bugs really needs a break is why Bugs isn't stopping him. It's better this way.

Daffy takes a seat in the back of the bus where there's fewer people and no one to hear him supposedly talk to himself, since he learned the hard way (at school) that no one else can see Bugs.

"Are you alright?" He whispers, putting in his earphones and looking at his hands, so as to appear as if he's just listening to music.

Bugs is beside him, he can't really see his face, just hears his voice. "Well, let's just say that a lot of strange things have been happening."

"Strange, like how?"

"Like I'm healing."

"Are you not supposed to do that?"

Bugs sighs. "No, not really. If I think about it I freak out, so I'm trying not to think about it."

Daffy suddenly gets the urge to touch Bugs. He reaches a hand out to the one Bugs has resting beside him. Daffy can do it without thinking now. The cool soft skin of Bugs hand presses against his and the startled ghost looks up. His expression is one of gratitude.

"Don't worry," Daffy comforts, "whatever happens, I'm here with you, until the end."

Bugs says nothing else after that, he just smiles.

They go all the way to the last stop. When they're finally off of the bus, Daffy takes a look around. It's a strip of shops, but the most recognizable one is a coffee shop with a sign reading "Simple Delights".

Daffy walks towards it and Bugs follows.

The place smells like too much sugar and strangely like a new car, a weird combination but one Daffy thinks he could definitely get used to.

He orders a latte and a doughnut and takes a seat near one of the many windows in the establishment. Bugs floats down beside him and watches the other customers drink their coffee and talk, bemused, until Daffy pulls him from his thoughts.

"Do you ever wonder if people missed you when you...you know?"

"It's okay Daffy, you can say it: punched my own ticket and the answer is yes, all the time."

"Is it hard for you to deal with your decision knowing that there's a possibility that someone misses you?" Daffy asks, curiosity shining in his onyx eyes.

"Well, it's not like I can change it really. But yes, it's a little hard knowing that a decision I've made has ultimately made someone miserable. It's a new kind of guilt."

The dark-haired teen says nothing, he just stares down at his cup chewing his lip. Finally in a voice so low, Bugs wonders if he was meant to hear it. "Do you think anyone would miss me?"

Bugs blinks, taken aback by the question. "As long as I can help it, you won't be going anywhere." He says seriously. "I don't ever want you thinking about death."

"But what if I want to be...you know? Something else? Or be somewhere else?"

"Daffy you're a beautiful human being and just because you don't see that doesn't mean that no one else does." Bugs reaches a hand out to cup Daffy's. He doesn't usually initiate the contact unless they are in Daffy's dreams, for fear that the Touch will take effect, but to his delight nothing deadly happens. He just feels the warmth of Daffy's palm in his.

"Say, all this talk about death is making me antsy. How about we explore downtown Devil's Cauldron?" Bugs asks.

Daffy nods. "Lead the way."

* * *

"So when were you born?"

"July 27, 1977." Bugs answers, floating beside Daffy with ease as the other teen tries to balance across the edge of a sidewalk. "You?"

"April 17, 1997. It doesn't matter anyway because birthdays suck." Daffy fusses.

"Wow, your soul is black." Bugs quips, but he can't hide the grin that crests his face when Daffy shoots him a harmless glare.

Daffy blushes when Bugs' eyes do that thing they do when he smiles. But he manages to say: "I don't have a soul."

"That explains a lot." Bugs laughs and Daffy sticks his tongue out at him.

"Are you an only child like me?" Daffy inquires, raising his arms out like a bird to steady his balance some more as he walks back and forth.

"I...don't know. I guess."

"Well, you have to know."

"My dad told me that before my mom left him or whatever, she had suffered a miscarriage. I was supposed to have a little sister, but shit happens…"

Daffy doesn't say anything for a few beats. When Bugs looks up Daffy is glowering at him with unshed tears in his eyes. "You can't just say things like that so casually!"

Bugs floats over to him. "Daffy it's fine. I'm over it." He wraps his arms around the smaller teen, cooing.

"Good to see you broke your charge."

When Bugs looks up it's the smug face of Noah he sees. "What are you doing here?" He grits out, still not releasing Daffy from his hold.

"What, do you have amnesia? I told you I'd come to check up on you. It's not like I'm excited to be here either." Then, pointing to Daffy. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing, I was just being an idiot."

Daffy pulls away to glance over in the direction Bugs is looking. "Who are you talking to?" He asks, wiping his eyes when he suddenly sees a guy, who couldn't be much older than he or Bugs, dressed in a decent suit staring right at him. At first the dark-haired, grey eyed man doesn't speak, he simply just stares at Daffy while Daffy stares back. Bugs is the one to break the silence. "Noah, this is Daffy my human and Daffy this is Noah my boss."

Within a second, Noah is shaking Daffy's hand. He doesn't break eye contact with Daffy the whole time.

"Umm, so are you done yet? We were kind of talking here." Bugs mutters.

Noah ignores him and smirks at Daffy. "If you ever need anything, anything at all. I'm never far away."

Bugs glances between Daffy and Noah. Daffy looks confused while Noah looks...like he is seriously flirting with Daffy. "Sorry to break up your party but Daffy and I were just going now…"

"Oh yeah." His boss blinks, finally remembering why he came. "You are supposed to protect him at all times. Following him while he skips school is a violation of rules 22 and 41. Haven't you read the rule book?"

"There's a rule book?"

"Never mind. Just don't screw up with this one." And with that and a wink sent Daffy's way, Noah disappears.

"Well he's something."

"Heh, tell me about it."

"It's getting late. We should get you home."

Daffy acquiesces. "We should. After I do this!" He punches Bugs in the arm before running away.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Hope you all liked it. I'm trying my best to update regularly now. Especially since I have an extended Christmas break. :)**

 **Happy Holidays guys! See you next chapter!**


	6. Castle of Glass

_**A/N:**_ **Hello lovely people! I'm back! Thank you all for the reviews/reads/favorites/follows. I appreciate them all! I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long, I've just been busy. :(**

 **Special thanks to my beta Harmony Valenka Smith and my friend Ranger. Thanks guys!**

 **Also, yes I love Welcome to Hell and this work was partly inspired by that idea. FYI if you don't know what W2H is I highly recommend you google it because Jonathan and Sock are so adorable.**

* * *

Daffy meets Lola in third period Algebra. Mr. Salmon tells the class that they have to work in pairs on some math problems. Naturally, Daffy is expecting to work alone, although in math class he's treated less of a pariah than everywhere else, he's still surprised when the bubbly blonde takes a seat next to him.

He doesn't know much about Lola, except that she's the only other new kid, other than himself, that he's aware of. Oh, and that she wears a lot of pink.

She smiles once she's seated and extends a hand to him, which he shakes awkwardly. "I'm Lola," Her eyes, a very bright blue, twinkle when she grins.

"Daffy." He greets.

Mr. Salmon tells them all to begin working, so to Daffy's gratitude, they no longer have to speak too much to each other.

Lola's math proficiency rivals Daffy's, she works quietly and independently, except on the rare occasions when she stops to ask Daffy for help on polynomials, she's an unstoppable force.

They finish earlier than the others and so they have more time to kill. Daffy's just about to pull out a vampire novel that he recently started reading, when Lola turns to him and asks him what he thinks about school.

Daffy waits - normally people just return to their lives and ignore him- maybe this is a fluke?

But Lola looks at him expectantly.

"To be honest, it really sucks." Daffy tells her truthfully.

Lola nods sympathetically. "Sit with me at lunch." She offers, giving Daffy another bright smile. Somehow, someway, he feels like taking her up on her offer.

* * *

Daffy and Lola become quick friends. They begin to do most things together, like eating lunch, walking to classes and taking the bus home. He grows really fond of her and she, him.

His parents notice that his mood has improved as well as his grades, to their delight.

Bugs has been busy lately - apparently his demon friend, Taz, had screwed up astronomically bad and taken over a human's body and as punishment for his insolence (because it's against the rules now to inhabit a human without permission from said human), he's trapped in that body in the living world. So Bugs has been trying to help him adjust while also trying to get him out of his penalty.

Daffy doesn't mind that Bugs is busy, because in all honesty, he isn't ready to introduce Bugs to Lola yet. He was thinking of never telling her about Bugs, but that would be hard, as Bugs is very important to him and so is Lola.

He doesn't want Lola to think he's weird, or worse, be afraid of him and never speak to him again. He really doesn't know what to do.

Bugs finds him one day, pacing back and forth, biting his nails and just _thinking._

"You okay?" The concerned ghost asks. Daffy nods and hugs Bugs. "I'm better now."

Someone clears their throat and Daffy jumps. "It's okay Daff, this is my friend Taz."

Daffy looks behind Bugs to see a young guy, probably not that much older than Bugs or himself, dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. He has dark skin and close cropped hair and pearly white teeth.

"How do you do?" He greets, grinning and extending a hand.

Daffy takes it. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Taz here has been around for centuries, so it's a little hard for him to shake the polite speech."

"With all due respect, why anyone would want to lose their natural dialect, in favor of your utter prattle is beyond me." Taz huffs.

Bugs rolls his eyes and takes a seat beside Daffy on the nook.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door downstairs. Daffy's parents went to a book signing in the next town over, and aren't expected home so soon. Daffy thrills when he realizes that the only person it could be is Lola.

Bugs and Taz get into a heated discussion about the flaws of modern language while Daffy leaves to answer the door.

Lola hugs him as soon as the door opens. "Hey Daffy!" But then there's a loud thud from upstairs.

"I hope they didn't break anything." Daffy whispers under his breath.

"What?" Lola asks.

"Nothing."

But there's another loud _thud_ and before Daffy can stop her, Lola is running up the stairs towards his room.

Lola swings Daffy's door open, what happens next he doesn't expect. Because out of nowhere, Lola pulls out what looks like water in a vial and splashes some at Taz, who stares at her fearfully but doesn't feel affected by the water. "Demon hunter." Taz whispers.

"Demon." She hisses.

"Wait, Lola, _Lola Veda_?" Bugs asks.

And all Daffy remembers is the light bulb going black and Noah's angry voice filling the silence.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Sorry this chapter is a little short but alas, I hope you all enjoyed it just the same. :D See you next chapter!**


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